A sweet-toothed Southern belle fighting crime in California pursues the killer of her ex-partner’s ex-wife, in a mystery that’s “romping good fun” (Booklist). For Savannah Reid, a stakeout with her former police partner Dirk Coulter is not her idea of a delicious Valentine’s Day. And after that crazy all-nighter, she so deserves a plate of hot buttered grits—and a two-pound box of gourmet chocolates for later on. Instead, the plus-size private detective gets the unwelcome return of Dirk’s two-timing ex-wife Polly to her sleepy San Carmelita beach town. Even though Polly trashed his heart once, she’s working her underdressed style and over-the-top wiles to get Dirk back. But when Polly winds up on Dirk’s trailer floor, gunned down by his service revolver, things go from sour to worse. With opportunity and motive pointing to Dirk, a vindictive police chief promptly arrests him for murder. Now Savannah must dig deep into Polly’s duplicitous life. And as each lead points every which way but the truth, she’ll gamble that a last-chance shot in the dark will be enough to catch one heartless killer. Starring a “warm, winsome, and weight-bedeviled” Georgia native (Publishers Weekly), this long-running series is a treat for those who love the Culinary Mysteries by Diane Mott Davidson or Miranda James’ Southern Ladies Mysteries.
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